High culture breeds high jewellery – how Van Cleef & Arpels, Graff and Chaumet craft sophisticated pieces inspired by opera, ballet and contemporary art

May 28 , 2021

Van Cleef & Arpels is supporting a performance of Jewels by the Hong Kong Ballet from May 21-23. Photo: HK Ballet

Van Cleef & Arpels’ ballet connection is so strong that it inspired George Balanchine to create Jewels featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Fauré

Graff’s Inspired by Twombly collection nods to the American contemporary artist, while Buccellati looked to Monet, Rubens and Cézanne for its Art collection

From miniature painting and sculpting to engraving and balancing colour via mixing and matching gemstones, there’s no denying that jewellery making is an art form in its own right. Inspiration can be found in every corner of life, whether in the delicate beauty of the natural world that ends up on a canvas, or romance expressed as song and dance on stage. Just as artists inspire with their creativity, in the world of jewellery, designers put their own sparkling spin on works of art.

Van Cleef & Arpels has long been associated with refinement and elegance, and ballet captures the essence of strength and femininity for which the brand is famous.

Louis Arpels, a fan of ballet, shared his love for the dance form with his nephew, Claude, and the pair would frequent the Paris Opera. It was from there Van Cleef & Arpels’ iconic ballerina clips first took shape. Two decades later, in the 1940s, the first ballerina clips were created in New York, a city in which the jeweller had gained a prominent presence.

A diamond necklace with a total of 83.58ct of diamonds from Graff’s Inspired by Twombly Collection. Photo: Graff

The design depicts a ballerina in various positions and poses, each with a rose-cut diamond face. Diamonds and coloured gems come together to create intricate tutus and leaping, twirling and en pointe figures.

A love of ballet formed the framework for the friendship between Claude and New York City Ballet co-founder and famed choreographer George Balanchine. Enamoured by gemstones, Balanchine was inspired to create Jewels, a three-act ballet that features the “big three” – rubies, emeralds and diamonds, respectively.

Jewels was lauded as a masterpiece, with Balanchine’s professional reputation and friendships making way for collaboration with famous composers. Three of the biggest names in classical music lent their creativity to the performance’s three acts: Gabriel Fauré for Emeralds, Igor Stravinsky for Rubies and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for Diamonds.

Van Cleef & Arpels’ collection of clips, of course, finds inspiration beyond emeralds, diamonds and rubies. The house also makes use of crafts such as enamelling to bring fluidity and life to the designs. In the latest collection, rubies, blue sapphires, pink sapphires and tsavorite garnets are used alongside enamel, vibrantly capturing the energy and power of ballet.

The Spider’s Web by Buccellati. Photo: Buccellati